Topical issues

The investment year 2024 was surprisingly good for pension funds worldwide. In the international performance comparison conducted by the Finnish Centre for Pensions, the average real return exceeded long-term figures. Finnish pension funds were among the best in their category.

The Finnish Centre for Pensions (ETK) has published new guidelines on Finnish social insurance contributions in several languages. A new addition are the guidelines in Spanish.

The question of how much pension one gets for one’s contributions is often raised in the Finnish pension debate. The new country comparison in a recent analysis by the Finnish Centre for Pensions provides one way of examining the relationship between statutory pension contributions and old-age pensions. According to the comparison, the lowest old-age pension is about half of the contribution, while the highest old-age pension is almost one and a half times the contribution.

The popularity of early partial retirement has grown significantly in recent years. Among those born in 1956, about 20 per cent of those entitled to this benefit opted to retire before their retirement age, while among those born in 1959, the figure rose to 40 per cent, according to a new study by the Finnish Centre for Pensions.

The Sections “Working abroad” and “Pensions from abroad” on the Etk.fi website have been updated. The idea behind the update was to make the web pages clearer and to help people apply for the A1 certificate and pensions from abroad.

The average monthly pension for Finns continued to grow last year. In 2024, earnings-related pensions and pensions paid by Kela amounted to 39.1 billion euros.

The Finnish Centre for Pensions produces independent research data on how the earnings-related pension system works, the impacts of pension reforms and how the pension system is achieving its objectives. In 2025–2029, our research focuses on four key areas: working careers, transition to retirement, pension adequacy, and the financial sustainability of the pension system.

The 2025 pension reform in Finland introduces significant changes aimed at ensuring the financial sustainability of the country’s earnings-related pension system. Pensions will continue to accrue as usual, and age limits remain unchanged, but investors in pension assets can now expect better investment returns.

The assets of the Finnish earnings-related pension system increased by about 20 billion euros in 2024. The growth is due to investment returns. Insurance contribution income increased by more than half a billion euros.

The number of Finns retiring on disability pensions each year has remained relatively stable throughout the 2020s. In 2024, this number saw a slight decrease, marking the lowest in statistical history. These figures come from the latest statistics by the Finnish Centre for Pensions.